Friday, January 13, 2012

Two rare and sought-after albums are featured in this post, the original mono editions of the instrumental "Pickin' Strings" LPs by the Hachey Brothers. Brothers Curly and Bobby Hachey were natives of Atholville, New Brunswick. Performing early on as the "Sunset Playboys", by the fifties they were known as the Hachey Brothers and gained a great deal of exposure performing with Willie Lamothe as his backup band. Bobby Hachey remained with Willie Lamothe for many years and became legendary in Quebec for his virtuosity as a lead guitarist.
"Pickin Strings Country Style" was released in 1958 (Banff RBS 1038, also released as Rodeo International RCW 1009) and although it contains no personnel listings, it pictures left to right Fernand Thibault on tenor banjo (also played violin), Bobby Hachey on mandolin (also played lead electric guitar), Curly Hachey on rhythm guitar and Mary Lou Farrah on upright bass. "Pickin' Strings No. 2" (Banff RBS 1052) is from 1960 and also lists no personnel. The Hachey Brothers and Fernand Thibault appear with Willie Lamothe on the 1960 London LP "Willie LAMOTHE et ses Cavaliers des Plaines" which can be downloaded from Uncle Gil's Rockin' Archive here.

Monday, January 9, 2012

Mac Beattie and the Ottawa Valley Melodiers are one of my very favourite "classic" Canadian country bands, and I am most pleased to present seven of their vintage Banff albums at the Scratchy Attic.
"A Visit to the Ottawa Valley" was the group's first LP, originally issued on the Rodeo label (RLP 64) c. 1960, and reissued on Banff (RBS 1170) in 1963. Some of the recordings comprising the LP were definitely first released as singles in the fifties on the Rodeo and London labels; I'm not sure if any of these tracks were recorded at the time of the album's release or not.
John MacNab Beattie (1916-1982) was a native of Arnprior, Ontario. He led the Melodiers from 1937 on and off until his death, and became a legend in the Ottawa Valley playing dances, bars, radio and television. He composed songs about Valley life and culture, several of which have become classics. His autobiography, "This Ottawa Valley of Mine" was published shortly after his death in 1982 and is a fascinating document of not only Mac and the Melodiers, but of Valley life in the early and mid 20th Century. If you can't track down a copy, you can visit a wonderful website dedicated to Mac here.

"Canadian Folk and Country Songs" (Banff RBS 1185), Mac and the Melodier's second album, was released in 1964. Like RBS 1211, it contains songs most associated with Beattie's legacy such as "My Red Headed Girl From Quebec" and "In A Little Shack Up The Pontiac."

"This Ottawa Valley of Mine" (Banff RBS 1211) was released in 1965 and may be Mac's most classic album. It contains songs that have become standard fare for Canadian folk singers such as "Saturday Night Up The Gatineau", "Train Wreck At Almonte", etc.

Includes jacket and label scans.

Tracks:

1. This Ottawa Valley Of Mine
2. Sing A Swingy Lullaby
3. Carleton County
4. Saturday Night Up The Gatineau
5. Delta, My Leeds County Home
6. Train Wreck At Almonte
7. Bank Robbery At Cobden
8. The Lanark Fire
9. My Renfrew County Home
10. St. Patrick's Day At Neville's

From 1965 comes "Sing a Song" (Banff RBS 1242). It includes nine tunes composed by Mac as well as the traditional Irish song "The Stone Outside Dan Murphy's Door". Of particular note is the tribute to then-recently departed fiddler Ward Allen, "Maple Sugar Blues" and a great ode to classic Canadian fiddle culture, "The Old Tyme Fiddler's Dream."
Between this release and "25th Anniversary", Mac and the Melodiers released two other LPs. "Instrumental Favourites" (Banff RBS 1261) from 1966 featured instrumentals by Melodiers Jim Mayhew (piano) and Al Utronki (guitar). "Thru The Years" (Banff RBS 1282) was comprised of standards such as "Love Letters In The Sand" and "A Shanty In An Old Shanty Town"; it contained no Beattie originals.

Includes jacket and label scans.

Tracks:

1. Sing A Song
2. Just A Little While Ago
3. The Turkey's End
4. Could It Have Been Heaven
5. Rockabye Waltz
6. Maple Sugar Blues
7. The Old Tyme Fiddler's Dream
8. Tonight At My Table All Alone
9. Swingin' At The Hotel Renfrew
10. The Stone Outside Dan Murphy's Door*download here*

"25th Anniversary" (Banff RBS 1299) was released in 1968 to commemorate the Melodier's silver anniversary. It features ten of Mac's compositions including his tribute to the legendary Charlie Chamberlain.

Includes jacket and label scans.

Tracks:

1. A Fiddle, Gee-tar And Washboard
2. Misery Loves Company
3. Country Music Man ''Chuck Davis''
4. The Beaches Of Dieppe
5. A Canadian Song Of Thanks
6. On The Banks Of The Ottawa
7. Northern Ontario Blues
8. Mister Charlie Chamberlain
9. Dream Island
10. Moonlight Memories*download here*

"In Stereo By Request" (Banff SBS 5312) was released in 1969 and features stereo re-recordings of nine songs previously recorded by the Melodiers, as well as "Riding Down To Santa Fe" which I believe was their radio theme in the thirties.

This is the first of seven posts in which I will present seven albums by Mac Beattie and the Ottawa Valley Melodiers. I am beginning with 1971's "Mr. Ottawa Valley" (Banff SBS 5333) and working my way back to his first, "A Visit To The Ottawa Valley" (Banff RBS 1170).
"Mr. Ottawa Valley" was Mac's last solo album, he released an LP with his daughter Bonnie in 1975, "Dad and Daughter" (Banff SBS 5419)

Sunday, January 8, 2012

Having long been a great admirer of the legendary Michael Coleman's recordings, I was quite pleased to recently discover the work of his duet partner and contemporary, Packie Dolan. The only substantial information I was able to find about him is the following account from the now defunct Irish music site "The Knotted Chord":

Musicians of Longford: (The Knotted Chord Archive, 2002).

Packie Dolan (1904-1932) Fiddle, singer, dancer.

Patrick James or Packie Dolan was born in Ballinamuck, Co.Longford, the eldest of 9 children. His father John, a small farmer, played fiddle and taught Packie.The area in which he was reared was well known for it's music. Fiddles and flutes were most common but uilleann pipes, tin whistle, accordion and concertina were popular also as well as singing. Frank Quinn and John Clarke before Packie and Paddy Reynolds after were famous New York based fiddlers and all came from this area.With the depressed years during and after the first world war John and his wife Catherine decided to send their eldest children to the U.S.(Seven of the 9 would eventually emigrate to the U.S.). Packie, then aged 15 and his 13 year old sister Veronica Rose sailed from Liverpool to New York in December 1919, stayed with an Aunt and completed their education.1920's New York was a very exciting place to be with opportunities aplenty. Packie married Briggetta Gaffney, also from Longford, in 1925 but tragically she died the following year of pneumonia. Packie was a plumber by trade and had steady employment and played music by night. His popularity with audiences, his jovial personality, good looks, and most of all musical ability on the fiddle made him a target of the many recording companies signing Irish artists at that time. He began recording in 1927, a duet with Michael Coleman initially, with Brunswick. His first solo was released by Colombia, followed by another duet with Coleman, also with Colombia.In 1928 he got a job as a chauffeur and started his own band, "Packie Dolan and the Melody Boys" for the Ballroom circuit. The Victor label recorded them in May 1928. Hughie Gillespie, the fiddler from Donegal, was among the members. Their style and instrument combination of fiddle, whistle, and bones/bodhran, was unique and later formed the backbone of Sean O'Riada's Ceoltoiri Chualann and in turn the Chieftains.In all, Packie recorded 24 sides in 6 sessions over 22 months which is the total output remaining. He was heavily influenced by the Sligo fiddle style, especially Coleman, but also James Morrisson. He also recorded some vaudeville style songs but not in the stage Irish form then popular. On "Mother Malone" he sings, dances, mentions himself in the lyric and plays fiddle.In 1929 he made a visit home to Ireland for two months, a most unusual event in those days, which came about through a booking for his group as ships entertainment on a special excursion. The Wall Street crash in October 1929 meant the collapse of record sales but Packie was able to go back to plumbing. He became an American citizen in 1930 and married, in 1931, Marguerite Finneran from Roscommon. They were due to return permanently to Ireland in late 1932, awaiting the birth of their daughter Marjorie, when tragedy struck once more. A ferryboat was taking workmen to a building site on Rikers Island when on the third run that morning the boiler exploded and the ship went down with 125 men on board. Sixty eight men died including Packie Dolan, age just 28, an inestimable loss to future generations. His music was released by Harry Bradshaw on his VivaVoce label in 1994, titled "the forgotten fiddle player of the 1920's"(HB).

I find both his recordings and the account of his tragic life compelling. Listening to these tracks I'm struck by how much of his influence I can retroactively hear in the music that followed later in various traditions. His fiddling seems smoother and more rolling than Coleman's; perhaps this appeals to my Ontarian ears as I find his playing more accessible. I'm also taken with his impish vocal delivery, he was clearly as great an entertainer as he was a musician. Both "Mother Malone" and "Erin's Green Shore" turn up in the repertoire of the late million-selling Newfoundlander Harry Hibbs in versions that were clearly derived from Nolan's records, either directly or a few times removed. I'm sure more such lineage's could be traced, but I'll let the recordings speak for themselves.

Included in the download are the 22 tracks from the 1994 collection plus one additional track I found online and added.